The Fire Element and the
Alchemical Process of Incineration

Alchemically fire or calcinatio is the stage of a change process in which refinement is accomplished through heating. Calcinatio is a heating and drying process. Carl Jung spoke of fire as libido or psychic energy.

Three symbols for fire are the wolf, the lion and the king. The wolf is that elemental desire which is lust; the lion represents an egocentric drive for power; the king symbolizes objective consciousness. Thus we have basic instinctual force, a nearly conscious ego drive and a more fully objectified consciousness of personal capability. These images from myth correspond both to psychological stages of development and to the astrological developmental process. The wolf (Aries) relates to the fundamental instinct toward germination; the lion (Leo) symbolizes a physical and emotional stage of growth; the king's more objective awareness (Sagittarius) relates to and involves observation of the Law through nature. Each of the astrological signs expresses one aspect of the element fire and its processes.

In alchemy fire is used to heat the materia that is the object of the opus. This heating can result in a drying out process in which impurities are removed. Human beings are naturally attracted to fire: it warms us, it aids in the preparation of food and its properties fascinate the eye. Yet we are also afraid of fire because it can cause serious injury. Intellectually we know that heat applied in the proper amounts can cook our food, changing separate ingredients into one product. We know that heat is necessary to keep us alive in colder climates. On the level of sensation we appreciate fire's value but we also respect its destructive potential.

The same thing occurs within the psyche. Standing in the fire means staying with painful feelings until they are fully understood; it means developing the stamina to resist frustration as well as anxiety; it means going all the way through whatever process has gotten us into the fire. If we get too close to the psychic fire, we may back off, thereby failing to complete the lesson of calcinatio. Furthermore, each time we allow ourselves to back away, we create a psychic situation in which we avoid the very process that can make us whole. We allow the ego complex to direct our lives.

Because a human being is far more than an ego complex, developmental processes force us to understand the ego as a part of the being, not its totality. Standing in the fire is a metaphor for the melting of illusions concerning the ego (or any other part of the being that has assumed greater importance than it rightfully deserves.) Alchemical firing involves the removal by melting, distillation, evaporation, drying, or burning, of gross impurities, leaving behind a purified metal or compound. Examples of such processes can be found in the smelting of ores into metallic form. Iron is purified and hardened through heating processes to form steels of far greater strength; the psyche is similarly strengthened and hardened through the process of calcinatio. Such a hardening process occurs over and over in alchemy as the compound is refined; psychologically one may encounter the firing process many times in order to gain the strength needed to withstand the force of emotional affect as it emerges into consciousness.

When fire appears in a psychic process, either the individual will be burned (by reason of the fact that fire represents what was formerly incompatible with the consciousness, and therefore destructive) or the fire can enter in and purify (because the psychic contents represented by the fire are still painful but no longer totally incompatible). If we experience fire as small children we need to be taught caution so we do not get burned physically; as adults we may need help in developing resistance to the fear of being burned so that we can learn about the healing properties of such a purification.

If we cannot face an emotional test we repress the emotion and the memory it accompanies. Later, as we gain strength, we can look at those hidden memories and by so doing we release psychic energy, libido, to be used for other creative purposes. This is one of the foundational therapeutic processes.

Another alchemical term that involves fire is rubedo. At first we experience fire only as conflict or shame, but later we begin to perceive it as a melting agent that allows a synthesis of the ingredients of our compound. The psychic heating process is painful to withstand, yet it is necessary. By allowing an emotion to be tempered in the fire we can release whatever part of it we no longer need, thereby refining the experience and strengthening the psyche.

Three Expressions of Alchemical Fire

Alchemists have defined at least three phases of the process of calcinatio whose variations depend primarily on the temperature of the fire that is applied to the hermetic vessel (the contained psyche of the individual). The three phases are related to factors in the environment as well: Nature without human influence; Art, which is human agency and tools; and the combination of Nature and Art into one process.

The first aspect of fire is creativity on the instinctual level, the aspect of Nature without interference from man. Represented by Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, action occurs but is not evident at first: the initiative and expression of Aries can often occur on the mental plane with little to show. However, Aries is confident that there will be a product of the creative effort.

In terms of the alchemical process, a small amount of heat can cause a dramatic release of energy. The alchemist provides for containment of energy so that the material can undergo effective change. If the vessel is not sealed, then some of the essence might escape; similarly, if Aries energy dissipates too easily, there is a catharsis, of sorts, but no real progress is made toward wholeness. We must find a way to contain the energy without putting out the flame altogether.

The second level of alchemical fire is the temperature of the Sun in Leo in August. This temperature is appropriate for the baking process. While the Aries fire is hot, it is not as sustained as the fixed fire of Leo, and therefore is less effective in the drying out process mentioned earlier. With Leo fire one finds somewhat greater staying power; and the result of the heat can be seen more directly. There is more patience, more thoroughness in the "baking" of thoughts and feelings. Whereas in Aries we catch glimpses of our own mortality in the form of thoughts, in Leo we find the patience to sustain these thoughts. Here we sacrifice something of ego in the process of divining the qualities of courage and nobility we have within us. Sometimes time we encounter arrogance and stubbornness, selfishness about the process: we may not wish to share as openly as we may have done in Aries.

Digestion is the process-oriented quality of fire in which an idea is not merely thought, but also digested and assimilated into consciousness. Digestion is not usually associated with a fire sign in astrology; yet the digestive process is sustained over a period of time and that fits the model of a fixed sign. It involves the breaking down of food materials chemically and that is a heat-producing process. The purpose of digestion is to provide fuel for the body. Thus the metaphor can be seen to fit the element of fire and the sign of Leo. Also, the resulting energy for body tissues is as different from the original food as a baked loaf of bread is from its original ingredients.

Human agency is part of the process. Baking bread implies knowledge of ingredients, preparation and timing. Digestion, as seen by the alchemists, is a planned process, not a haphazard one. Without the art of selection and organization of materials the fire would result in no worthwhile product and the digestive process would produce less usable fuel for the body. And the baking process produces the very food stuffs that begin the digestive process.

We should understand that the alchemical procedure may be repeated a number of times before the end result is accomplished. We eat every day to maintain our strength and activity; we utilize Art to modify our world on an ongoing basis. At the same time the psyche is constantly undergoing changes, first one kind and then another. The baking process results in a product that is, while the psychological process is more time-consuming, presumably never totally complete.

The third fire step involves a combination of Nature and Art. No longer a casual idea here or effort there, the process now requires a blending of all that we can know and understand. At this stage we discover the Sagittarian qualities of introspection and vision. The process results in a product; further, it results in a focus on the future and its potential meaning. When Nature and Art are combined effectively the result is one of transcendent function, going beyond either Nature or Art. The individual is now at the point where philosophical and spiritual considerations form a greater part of life, demanding a subtle application of heat at just the right moment. Psychologically, we desire to first have a feeling, second to digest and understand that feeling, and third to move outward toward a goal greater than ourselves. The psychic process is complete when we have transformed the originally undirected libido into a powerful intellectual and spiritual tool.

The alchemist must be ready to reduce the original product to nothing but ash. Only then can the reborn phoenix arise. At the same time the resultant ash is as light as thought and as free as spirit.

From a Jungian perspective the fire process has come full circle. At first we project libido with little direction or purpose. Realizing that thoughts are inconsistent with the world of reality, we take back the libido, redirecting it and evaluating it from a personal perspective. Only after this process is complete do we re-utilize the energy of libido effectively in the world without being hampered by projections. The tempering process of fire takes the original Aries temper and transforms it into temperance.

Padma As Alchemical Fire

Tibetan Buddhism focuses on the processes of the psyche. Padma is the name for a psychological process of moving between fire and water. Individuals with this emphasis in the personality are always searching for the one most powerful metaphor that will perfectly describe their idea, create an impression, and demonstrate poetic creativity. Just as such an individual wants to give the best example, so will he or she learn best through the use of example and metaphor. Non-rational processes are used to integrate symbols and images.

The Padma individual will ask very specific questions and may also tend to take things personally. The neurotic expression can be superficial and incoherent, causing ineffectiveness. Through communication effort, individuals with this emphasis can gain understanding of how they think and feel. They achieve depth through the process of becoming clear in conversation with another person. Vivid language becomes part of a vehicle for better expression of feelings. Padma energy encourages us to get close to things and to fully experience them.

Contact helps to create the feeling of being present for us, but it can also lead to merging which lacks boundaries. As we merge we lost our usual reference points and may need to take a step back to re-orient. When we take the backward step we may seem to be withdrawing a great distance; others may misinterpret the movement as lack of interest.

Padma can be intimate with the entire world; such a person can also develop a finely tuned discriminating awareness, seeing the quality of things and the relationships between them. Fluidity of language demonstrates flexibility of thought underlying outer activity. Flexibility and the ability to be intimate contribute to the compassionate warmth and empathy we feel when we encounter this psychic energy. The world loves love, at least initially, as it is warm and gentle. Later we may feel alternately smothered and abandoned, due to its apparent inconsistency.

Padma tends to indulge in extremes. Excess energy or emotion is hard on others; we must learn the wisdom of clear communication of feelings and of discrimination. It is not always wise to "go for it all". Because we can discriminate among alternatives, there may be some difficulty in making decisions. This would be especially so when there is a lack of context - when boundaries are blurred.

Padma is both fiery and fluid, moving from experience of one element to the other, thereby speeding up and enhancing the process. This combination of fire and water is a fundamental combination of the conscious and unconscious potential within every individual. Astrologically the fire signs emerge out of the water signs; alchemically the stage of calcinatio very often follows solutio. The psyche begins to dissolve, to soften, to become pliant; then the individual senses the vitality and the pain of fire as excess and impurities are burned away.

We stand with one foot in the twelfth house of water and one foot in the first house of fire, experiencing change as both intensely creative and potentially destructive. Alternately too much and too little, we sometimes wonder how we can avoid the extremes of these feelings. Beginning with a change in the frame of reference, we can develop sense a resonating fluidity that occurs when we are in touch with the current of our lives. Instead of fighting to swim upstream, we adapt to the river, allowing it to carry us. This surrender is especially valuable when the path is greater than ourselves: we allow ourselves to go with the direction of the universe.

When we have established the pattern of our lives, we can begin to feel the fiery challenge of a new level of creativity. The heat of passion is the warmth of compassion and also the potential source of dynamic ideas. Context, vividness, and discrimination allow us to perceive and to appreciate the beauty of the world - the world in its own fullness of creativity.

Astrologically the fire and water elements are capable of singeing or drowning the individual. Seeking a balance between the extremes of wetness and hot dryness, we find Padma energy in the balance point, drawing on the less conscious energy while exploring the vivid reality of the conscious realm. Then energy can move both ways in conscious awareness.